Services
Historic Cemetery Preservation
Cultural Landscape Reports
National Register of Historic Places
Historical Landscape Architecture
Laura L. Knott
Historical Landscape Architect
An award-winning landscape architect with a background in history and archaeology, and graduate training in historic preservation, I have spent thirty years practicing landscape architecture in Virginia, Maryland, Arkansas, North Carolina, Illinois, and Texas, with a focus on research, analysis, and design for parks and other public landscapes, taking a landscape approach to the treatment of historic properties located throughout the U.S.
Projects
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Freedom Riders National Monument
Cultural Landscape Report
Anniston, Alabama
Freedom Riders National Monument protects the former Greyhound bus
terminal where, on Sunday, May 14, 1961, a group of segregationists attacked a bus carrying African American and White Freedom Riders, and the site where the
segregationist mob set the bus on fire.
The cultural landscape report summarizes the history of each site, evaluates their historical integrity, and offers treatment recommendations for their preservation.
William Johnson House
Cultural Landscape Report
Natchez, Mississippi
The William Johnson House is located in historic downtown Natchez. It was the home of William Johnson, a free man of color and successful businessman who owned the three story brick structure on downtown State Street. In his now-published diary, Johnson recorded not only his business transactions, but keen observations about life and politics in antebellum Natchez.
Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden and Plaza Evaluations of Significance
Washington, D.C.
The Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden was designed in 1981 by landscape architect Lester Collins, and the Plaza in 1991 by landscape architect James Urban. The Smithsonian Institution commissioned the prime and Laura Knott to evaluate the significance and integrity of the work of both designers. The resulting report informed the course of proposed renovations.
Austin Historic Cemeteries Master Plan
Austin, Texas
Laura served as Principal Investigator for this preservation plan, which has been featured in several magazine articles and received several awards, including the American Planning Association’s National Planning Achievement Award for Urban Design, Gold Level.
Borden Building, Tucker Building, and Pope House Historic Landscape Design
Raleigh, North Carolina
These three historic buildings are owned by the City of Raleigh and used for events and other programming. Laura's team conducted historic research into the history of their landscapes and design contexts, then developed schematic and design development plans for their adaptive reuse and interpretation.
Cool Spring Battlefield Cultural Landscape Rehabilitation Plan
Bluemont, Virginia
The Battle of Cool Spring was the precursor to Sheridan’s deadly march through the Shenandoah Valley in 1864. Laura'a team developed a strategic cultural landscape rehabilitation plan for the protection and interpretation of historic resources at the site, including a new interpretive trail, and improvements to universal access and wayfinding.
Park Road 4 Cultural Landscape Report and National Register Nomination
Blanco County, Texas
Park Road 4 was constructed by the CCC in the 1930s, guided by the National Park Service. Laura's team of landscape architects and historians produced a CLR as a basis for land planning decisions by Texas Parks and Wildlife and to protect the scenic parkway from threats to its historic character. This research formed the basis for a successful National Register nomination. The project received a Texas ASLA Honor Award.
St. Elizabeths Hospital Center Building Landscape Architecture
Washington, D.C.
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a nationally significant historic resource that represents the evolution of treatment for mental health patients in the U.S. Its historic Center Building was rehabilitated to house the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a new wing added as Building 54. Laura's team provided landscape architectural services for this project.
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Historic
Resource Survey
Tuskegee, Alabama
This national historic site preserves the legacy and historic resources of Tuskegee Institute, a college for African Americans founded in 1881. The college played a significant role in the ascent of African Americans into mainstream America during the late 19th century and well into the 20th. Commissioned by the National Park Service, Laura's team provided a historical overview of the site, and identified and evaluated its cultural resources within historic contexts
Resources for Historic Landscapes
A Guide to Trail Surfaces for Historic Sites
Our guide supports informed decision-making when planning for and designing trails, walks, and paths within historic sites. The range of options is broad and varied, but with enough forethought, trails, walks, and paths can be added to almost any site, providing accessibility to all and contributing to a rewarding visitor experience.
Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Rural Historic Landscapes
Understanding the forces that have shaped rural properties, interpreting their historical importance, and planning for their protection are important challenges in historic preservation. This National Register bulletin provides guidance for the preparation of National Register nominations and determinations of eligibility for rural historic landscapes.
Letting Go in the Face of Climate Change
Accelerating climate change, with super storms, inundations, and temperature extremes, has caused many practitioners and their clients to view some instances of long-term conservation and perpetuation as unsustainable, and loss inevitable, inspiring an expansion of the range of solutions to include “non-intervention,” “continued ruination,” and “curated decay,” or otherwise simply “letting go” of any plans for saving the resources. This white paper describes my team’s development of a cultural landscape report that ended in the rare recommendation of non-intervention in the ongoing loss of a historic site in Fairfax County, Virginia.